Linkrot repair: The August 5, 1950, Boxoffice article about the construction techniques used in building the Soledad Theatre is now at this link (I hope. The web site to which the magazine has moved its online archive is cranky as hell.)

The earlier Soledad Theatre was not destroyed by fire. The Johnson Family closed the theatre because they were sick of running the place and their principal business was automtoive sales/service in the southern Salinas Valley. It was only in the last decade or so that the original Soledad Theatre location burned. The theatre pictured above had no relation to the earlier Soledad Theatre. Last I saw, the building above is still standing as an office of some sort.

Two photos depicting the front and the auditorium of the Soledad Theatre were used to illustrate an article on laminated wood construction which appeared in Boxoffice of August 5, 1950. The photos are at the bottom of this page. (To read the beginning of the article, use the “previous page” link. The final four paragraphs of the article are at this link.)